A Christmas to Remember
by 1Pagan3
Summary: AU. One shot after Good Times, Bad Times. A present for a certain birthday girl!


AN: This is an early birthday present for Sammygirl1963, I hope you like it... have a totally terrific day!

AN: This takes place after Good Times, Bad Times and is in answer to a special request from the birthday girl. I own nothing of Kripke's creations, but am guilty of playing in his sandbox.

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The snow had started after lunch causing little Sam to run back and forth from the window to the kitchen every few minutes

Dean wasn't sure how this was supposed to work and that was saying something since it was supposed to be easy to assemble and they even had a certified mechanic involved. Looking up at the clock, Dean knew that they had to hurry because there was no way they could convince his little brother that nothing was going on with them being out in the shop longer than promised. Normally Sammy would be all over the new building helping get everything put away and even organizing tools that there was no way he could know what they did; which made it a very interesting experience, but no one had the heart to tell him to stop; his enthusiasm made up for the hodgepodge way that the tools were organized.

"Dean, if you hold this piece right here I think I can tighten everything down and we'll finally be done with it." John said wearily. Of all the things he'd put together, he couldn't remember anything being so damn difficult.

Bracing several pieces together, Dean was happy to be this close to finishing. He loved his brother and it wasn't the little guy's fault that they were having such a rough time with this, but he _was_ the reason why they were in the shop instead of the nice warm house. Sighing in relief, he nodded as his dad finished the last twist and they both sat back and admired their handiwork.

"Let's go Dad. Mom and Sammy probably have a ton of cookies ready for us by now." Dean said as he headed towards the door. He waited for his dad to catch up then they both looked back at the object of frustration before shaking their heads.

"Who knew a bicycle could be so damn difficult?" John asked under his breath as he led the way back to the house, knowing that there would be a very excited boy waiting for their return.

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The snow had started after lunch causing little Sam to run back and forth from the window to the kitchen every few minutes. It wasn't that he had never seen snow before, it was just that before he was a visitor in someone else's house, but now he could look out his own window and it made everything seem more magical than before.

Mary watched her youngest son as he would attempt to cut out the cookie shapes, but then would make a dash toward the living room and stare out the window for a moment before resuming his cookie cutting duties and repeating the pattern every few minutes. They all had known that he would be excited, but none were prepared for the energy that Sammy had been exuding these last several days. When Izzy had left earlier in the week, he had fallen into a slight depression until Dean's last day of school when he came home with a large bag of candy and a couple of gifts from friends, suddenly the little boy had perked up as if it had been him getting the items… then again, with a big brother like Dean, he was. Now as she watched, she couldn't help but wonder what her little boy had been up to the last couple of days as he would disappear for a couple of hours at a time after letting them know that he was checking on a surprise; even Dean didn't know what Sammy was up to and it took a lot of willpower not to try and follow him.

"Mommy, do you think the angels get hungry when they visit?" Sam asked as he continued to look out the window.

Puzzled, Mary thought about it for a moment and wondered what was really on Sammy's mind. Before she had a chance to ask though, the front door opened and both John and Dean walked through while shaking off the snow.

"Hey Sammy, watcha doing?" Dean asked as he noticed his little brother staring intently out the window.

Beaming, Sam looked at his family before jumping off the chair. "Nothing! Where have you been, have you been working in the garage, do you need help?" Sam asked as he rushed over and hugged his daddy around the waist.

John laughed at his son's enthusiasm and looked over at Mary. "I thought he was going to help you today?" he asked then saw the large plate full of cookies. "Wow! Kiddo, do you really think that Santa is going to eat all that?"

"No silly Daddy!" Sam giggled. "We don't want to forget the angels!"

Both John and Dean stared at the youngest member of their family as he ran off towards the loft. Looking at Mary, they were even more surprised to see that she was just as confused as they were.

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John had just laid down once again after he and Mary had finished wrapping the presents and strategically filled up the bottom of the tree. He couldn't get the picture of little Sammy placing each and every decoration 'just so' around the freshly cut tree mere hours earlier in hopes of making it 'the bestest tree ever!' Now though he was glad that he would get a few hours sleep before the day began again. Being that it was Sammy's first Christmas with them, they all had decided to make it one that he'd never forget. Going over the list of things for him to do, he finally decided that everything was done and pulled Mary closer to him.

The sound of scampering feet from the loft woke John up with a groan and an insistence that there was no way it was time to get up. Mary laughed easily and nudged her sleepy, grumbly husband up and out of bed as she grabbed her robe and headed towards the living room knowing that the boys were not only up but would beat them to the tree.

Sam woke up suddenly and knew instantly what day it was, he'd been planning his surprise ever since Dean had told him how important today was. It hadn't taken him long to wake Dean up and even less time for the both of them to make it down the ladder and into the living room where the tree still stood tall and decorated even though now the lights were on and underneath were filled with gifts of all shapes and sizes. Looking towards the fireplace, Sam saw the colorful stockings that he and his mommy had made and noted how full all of them were. Happy, he turned to Dean and gave him a huge hug but didn't say anything at all making his big brother wonder what was going on in his head.

"Wow boys, looks like someone's been real good this year!" John said happily as he walked in and immediately made his way to the tree. "How about we get started this morning?" he asked, barely noticing that there wasn't even a glimmer of light yet outside.

With Dean leading Sam toward the center of the room, Mary took each stocking down and made a big production of each one making sure both Dean and John knew exactly why Sammy had chosen each one and how he decorated them by hand. Seeing her little boy's enthusiasm start to fade, she quickly looked to John and saw that he noticed the same thing.

Worried that Sammy was starting to have mixed feelings about receiving gifts, John took the time to give him a warm hug when he gave out the first present. "Sammy, we want to make sure you understand that whatever you receive today is yours to keep, you don't have to do anything for it except be your normal loveable self, ok?"

"Ok Daddy." Sam said quietly as he accepted the first present and sat patiently until he noticed that everyone was waiting for him to open it. Nervously, he opened the package and saw a small wooden chest that when opened held the dragons he'd been reading about lately. Smiling widely, he proudly showed each one off and explained who each one was and what they had done in their lifetime.

Laughing, Dean readily opened his present and was pleasantly surprised when he saw a new knife and sheath. Looking at his parents he could only question what it meant but instantly saw the meaning behind it; they would support him in his role as Sammy's Guardian, no matter what. Feeling tremendously grateful for having parents like his, he felt himself start to tear up, but instead focused his attention on getting his brother to hurry up and open more presents.

It didn't take long for the wrapping paper to be scattered around the room and the presents laid out. Dean had received a journal to document the things he learned, a new leather coat, the basketball he'd been wanting as well as a new hoop that would be installed, and a new wallet to hold the money that he would earn while working in the shop. Sam had unwrapped a new chess board complete with marble pieces, a new backpack to hold the books that he'd gotten, an art kit complete with a large sketch pad, and a bicycle that had somehow been hidden behind the tree complete with a large bow. John had surprised Mary with a silver heart locket complete with pictures of both boys, while Mary had surprised John with a new rifle that Caleb had helped to pick out.

Dean had known that this was going to be a special Christmas so he made sure to get everyone something. Knowing that his mom hardly did anything for herself, he had bought her a gift certificate for a Day Spa at the salon that she liked to go to. Not knowing what to buy his dad, but knowing that he'd been worrying about getting the shop up and running, he'd gotten one of his friend's dad's to make a small neon sign that read "Winchester Restoration" that they could put in the office window. Not forgetting his little brother and knowing how much the kid liked everything, Dean bought his little brother a pendant to wear. After giving Sammy his present, he showed his brother that he wore one just like it and enjoyed the happiness that shone on his little brother's face when he saw how they shared something.

Sam lay on the carpet while holding onto Puppy and stayed quiet as he watched the snow fall outside the window. He didn't say a word as everyone conversed around him, nor did he say anything as they all started to clean up and get everything ready to make some breakfast before the rest of the day started. Completely absorbed in what he was doing, he failed to see the concerned looks his family was sending his way.

"Do you think it was too much?" Mary asked, hoping that they hadn't overwhelmed their little boy. She knew they went overboard, but being his first Christmas it was so easy to do.

Concerned, Dean sat next to Sam and ran his hand through his brother's hair. "Sammy, you ok?"

It took a moment before Sam spoke, but when he did it was with a sadness that they hadn't heard from him in quite awhile. "I think I misunderstood." He stated, not looking away from the window. "I thought I got you something nice, but I guess I messed it up."

Not understanding, John and Mary sat beside their little boy and looked at him closely. Concerned, they both were about to ask what he meant when suddenly they heard something that none of them would ever forget. Looking at each other, then at Dean, they turned back to Sammy in awe as understanding finally crept upon them. Turning their gaze out the window they noticed that although the sun hadn't started its journey yet, the darkness seemed to glow with a brightness that was astounding.

Moving towards the door, John, Mary and Dean couldn't help but feel pulled to the scene before them and they wondered if maybe they were still sleeping. Not taking their eyes away from it, they barely heard Sammy's voice over the sound.

"This was my Christmas present to you, but I think I got it all wrong… I didn't get you anything." Sam said as he stood next to them and looked out to the yard.

The sight of the figures moving in the light with a chorus of harmonious sound blending together was truly awesome to witness. It took several moments before they knew what they were seeing and once they did, they all turned to the youngest member of their family and silently agreed that it was they who had totally misunderstood. Grabbing Sammy into a hug, they all held onto him as they continued to watch their own personal celestial concert play out in front of them with true understanding. Their true gift was Sammy himself as well as each other, and that was the most precious gift of all; everything else was just icing on the cake.

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AN: I hope you all have enjoyed this little Christmas in August. If you feel I haven't done it justice, my only excuse is I was tired when I wrote it... uh... I don't do well with one shots... uh... I was bodyswapped with aliens... yeah, that's it! Jk... no aliens... just a freaky shapeshifter named george! ;) Take care... and Happy Birthday!!


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